According to the weather forecast, Saturday and Sunday were to reman dry. The forecast has not been too reliable but given it has tended towards predicting rain that did not come, I figured it was safe to assume I could get the outdoor stuff done this weekend.
But first, I checked my flight times for Friday. I discovered that I leave at 10:15am and land at 6:40am. It was a gift to get an extra day. I'd thought I was getting in late afternoon but then I realized that the flight time is less than the time difference. So I get a whole Friday, (although my body will think it's 1am.)
My first stop was the Taipei City Hakka Cultural Park. The Hakka are a people of certain Chinese ethnicity that came primarily from southern China. The park had some English signs, but mostly Chinese. They showed how the Hakka lived, where they emigrated and what they are doing now. The grounds were very pretty.
There was a connection to a path that I believe other looks Riverside park.
My goal was to see two temples and a historic building (all in the same area), eat lunch and get to a bar for music at 1:45. It's amazing how quickly I am able to get around. Here's the inside of an MRT station:
By the way, the MRT bathrooms are actually usable as bathrooms, not shooting heroin or doing sex work. I've used them. They are clean, stocked and have lady vending machines in them.
I headed to Longshan Temple, which was filled with tourists. In general, I like the temples here better than the ones I saw in Thailand (for the very deep and spiritual reason that I find them prettier.) But when I go to temples here, people are actively worshipping. So I might get a picture outside but I don't want to walk around taking pictures when people are praying. At Longshan, it didn't matter because it was teeming with picture-takers.
I really liked those pillars.
I next headed to Bopiliao, a historic building mixing both Japanese and Chinese (Qing Dynasty) architecture. Now it houses art exhibits and I found a lot of it interesting (I think it was a student show.)
I found Qingshan Temple a few blocks away. Again, it was a quieter temple with people praying and making offerings.
I took the MRT back to Ooh Cha Cha. I've eaten there three times now because 1- they are vegetarian, 2- they are good and 3- they are very close to the MRT station (and in this case, one stop away from the bar.) The restaurant is small and there were no seats. A young woman who was there with a small child offered to let me sit with them. I took a seat but she kept insisting the child sit closer to me. She was clearly not having it. She kept looking at me and standing next to the woman. I grabbed the first seat that opened up; I didn't want to ruin this kid's lunch. I had a beet hummus burger.
I could have walked to Revolver, the bar/cafe with the band, but I was going to be late. As far as I can tell, they usually have live music at night so I was surprised when I saw they had shows Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Either I did not read the website well, or much of it was in Chinese. When I got there, a rather sheepish young girl looked like I must be in the wrong place. Then she handed me a flier and I went upstairs to where the bands play.
They were kids playing covers. It was pretty cute. I was one of the few people there who had been alive when this music came out (along with, who I can only assume were, the musicians' parents.) I only stayed for three songs: Smells Like Teen Spirit, something I've never heard of and Zombie.
I returned to where my old hotel was to buy souvenirs. When I returned to my current hotel, I saw that Greese was ending on one of the movie channels. I watched and knitted. This is where I am on my t-shirt.
After last night, I am determined to not check out book-recommended restaurants for dinner. I took the MRT some distance to find a vegetarian restaurant. When I found it, not exactly where the book said it would be, it seemed to have changed. I stood outside reading the menu. Two people, who happened to be leaving, started talking to me about the food. I don't know why this happened. But it wasn't appealing to me so I walked around, and walked around some more. I finally went to a Thai restaurant, although I don't think I realized it was Thai when I got there. I ate, a walked through a market and then went back to my hotel to knit more while flipping between "Justice League" and Thor Ragnarok."
It's Monday evening. It's raining. I have to find dinner. Wish me luck.
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